The Battle of Çıldır was fought in 1578 during the

Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590) The Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590) was one of the many wars between the neighboring arch rivals of Safavid Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Starting with several years prior to the war and up to including most of the war itself, the Safavi ...

Background

The peace between the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and Persian (Safavid) Empire after the

treaty of Amasya The Peace of Amasya ( fa, پیمان آماسیه ("Peymān-e Amasiyeh"); tr, Amasya Antlaşması) was a treaty agreed to on May 29, 1555, between Shah Tahmasp of Safavid Iran and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire at the ci ...

continued from 1555 to 1578. When

Murat III Murad III ( ota, مراد ثالث, Murād-i sālis; tr, III. Murad; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Saf ...

of the Ottoman Empire ascended to the throne in 1574,

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after ...

of Persia sent presents to Murat III. But before the Persian delegation left

İstanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

, the Ottoman capital, Tahmasp died (1576). The new shah was

Ismail II Ismail II (; Born Ismail Mirza; 31 May 1537 – 24 November 1577) was the third Shah of Safavid Iran from 1576 to 1577. He was the second son of Tahmasp I with his principal consort, Sultanum Begum. By the orders of Tahmasp, Ismail spent twent ...

who changed the peaceful policy towards Ottomans and began hostilities in the border area. Meanwhile, the governor of Lorestan, a part of Persia, took refuge in Ottoman lands, an event which further created tension between the two empires. İsmail II soon died and during the interregnum following his death, the

Ottoman Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The name ...

decided to declare war.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi Cilt III'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p 21 The war continued during the reign of

Mohammed Khodabanda Mohammad Khodabanda (also spelled Khodabandeh; fa, شاه محمد خدابنده, born 1532; died 1595 or 1596), was the fourth Safavid shah of Iran from 1578 until his overthrow in 1587 by his son Abbas I. Khodabanda had succeeded his broth ...

in Persia.

Battle

After initial combat in so-called ''Cambaz Çukuru'', the main battle was around a small fort named

Çıldır Çıldır ( hy, Հիւսիսեան, Husenian; meaning "North"; ka, ჩრდილი, Chrdili; meaning "Shadow") is a district of Ardahan Province of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cu ...

in north-eastern

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

. The commander of the Ottoman army was

Lala Mustafa Pasha Lala Mustafa Pasha ( – 7 August 1580), also known by the additional epithet ''Kara'', was an Ottoman Bosnian general and Grand Vizier from the Sanjak of Bosnia. Life He was born around 1500, near the Glasinac in Sokolac Plateau in Bosnia t ...

and the commander of the Persian army was

Mohammad Khan Tokhmaq Ustajlu Mohammad Khan Tokhmaq Ustajlu ( fa, محمد خان تخماق استاجلو, translit=Mohammad Xān Toxmāq Ostājlu), also commonly known as Tokhmaq Khan Ustajlu ( fa, تخماق خان استاجلو, links=no), was a 16th-century Iranian of ...

who had represented Persia in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

after Murad III's accession. Tokhmak Khan also had a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

army under his command, Georgia being a Persian vassal (and its royal families being related by marriage). Tokhmak Khan tried to encircle the Ottoman army and was about to succeed when Ottoman commander

Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha ( ota, اوزدمیر اوغلی عثمان‌ پاشا, lit=Osman Pasha, the son of Özdemir; 1526 – 29 October 1585) was an Ottoman statesman and military commander who also held the office of grand vizier for one ...

intervened and defeated him.

Aftermath

Although

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

tried to attack Ottoman supply units after the battle, they were forced to retreat and when a bridge was wrecked during this retreat they lost further troops. These defeats left the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

to Ottoman conquest.

soon conquered

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, the Georgian capital.Joseph von Hammer: ''Osmanlı Tarihi Vol II'' (condensation: Abdülkadir Karahan), Milliyet yayınları, İstanbul. p 96 The next step was the conquest of

Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It i ...

(present

Republic of Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

). By this conquest Ottomans were able to reach the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Cildir Cildir Cildir Cildir History of Ardahan Province Cildir History of Kars Province 16th century in Iran 1578 in the Ottoman Empire 16th century in Georgia (country)

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources